Yes, I know it isn’t Monday, but Misty kindly announced the *Big News* yesterday and that gave me another day to put this together. That news? The e-anthology TRIALS, to be followed soon by TRIBULATIONS, went up for pre-order on Monday.

Making money means an investment — in time, creativity, sweat equity, and sometimes an outlay of money. To invest money in the book/e-book market, you have to have a clear goal(s) in mind, a plan for recouping the outlay, the ability to put it all together, and a way to advertise. You also need the right people (writers, editors, publisher, PR person). All this has been covered by others in previous *How to Anthology* posts, so I am avoiding going over well-trod ground. Instead, I want to tell a little about my decision making process for these anthologies — the answers to why I did all this.

It’s been a hard fall, at the end of a tough year. At times like these, when we mourn lost friends, or deal with fears and unexpected disappointments of any sort, it seems that even sitting down to write a page or two is more than we can manage.

On occasion, we here at MW urge you to take a day or two away from writing to enjoy life, to immerse yourself in the pleasures of family and friends, of beloved hobbies, of the simple joys of taking a walk, or reading a book. But at other times, writing can actually be our escape. The world isn’t always a friendly place; real life just sucks now and then. So write. Dive into your worlds, your characters, your storylines. Draw upon the emotions evoked by the real world, but live in those places you’ve created. It helps. Or rather, it helps […]

But I have to. Right? It’s what writers do. No matter what happens we find a way to be creative or edit or push through. It’s what I’ve always done. Writing is my crutch and my pillow and my dreamland and my advisor and my priest/nurse/psychiatrist, and pretty much my everything.

But this month has been hard and I am rethinking a lot of things. A lot of me. Of my life and my choices.

On Oct 11, my dad went in to Hospice for respite—meaning that he had five days of full time care so my stepmom could get some rest from the 24/7 care has to give alone. My brother is deathly allergic to cats and never could sit with dad, and I work too much, like 16 hours day, 7 days a week, for the last 30 years. Why such long hours? Making Money Everyday, saving lives […]

Morning Y’all. Or afternoon. Or night. Whenever you read this. Yes, MagicalWords.net has a new format of writers posting at most any time, but I wanted to keep to Mondays most of the time simply because I’m used to it.

Today’s post is about fan complaints about the cost of eBooks. A fan (let’s call her Sue Doe, to keep the Jane Doe Yellowrock confusion at bay) sent me a PM (private message) that she would no longer be buying my books because the eBooks cost so much more than other writer’s eBooks. She said I should, “Tell your publisher that they have to lower the costs of the books.” Her claim was that when the eBooks cost more than the paper books (mass-market) the companies are gouging.

We had a polite, long, back-and-forth PM exchange and I ended up telling her I was sorry to lose a fan, but […]

Dragon Con is going to happen in a world that is changing, is more dangerous, more confusing, and more problematic than ever. We have homegrown terrorists who hate anyone who is having fun, we have lunatics with guns and explosives and cars they want to use as weapons. We have factions within fandom and without. We have STUFF!

And that means we need to take it all back to basics. Back to the past, to our very earliest lessons. Let’s take it back to Kindergarten!!!! Let’s all remember our kindergarten rules (updated for the grownup world of today)!

Keep your friends close. Never walk away with a stranger. Eat and drink with friends, not strangers. If strangers become friends, keep your old friends with you. Hold hands to keep together when walking anywhere crowded. Wash hands with soap and water. Brush your teeth. Keep clean (bathe or shower). Know where […]

Do all or some, but always number one and number two. And for all you giggling 8 year olds … yes I said number one and number two.

Save every meal receipt (if it pertains to writing) for every meal at every event, every con, and on the road before and in between and after. On receipt document date, time, total, and who you were with. A lot of receipt ink no longer lasts. Faded receipts are useless. If you count off your clothing as a tax deduction, make sure the clothing is worn only at what counts as work. Con costumes, con clothing, con shoes, have their own place in the closet. If I use it in everyday life, it doesn’t go in Con clothes and I don’t count it off. Count gas or mileage. Keep receipts (ditto on ink problems) or good records. If […]